The U.S. economy saw a slowdown in hiring in December compared to November, while the unemployment rate improved to a fresh pandemic-era low.
The labor market posted a twelfth consecutive months of job growth in December, albeit with gains coming at a rate slower than many expected with 199,000. Consensus economists expected that December payrolls increased by over 400,000, or more than double the tally from November, when a slowdown in service-sector hiring had weighed on overall employment growth.
Senior Vice President & Partner at Arbor Research, Jim Perry, analyzes the December jobs numbers: